


The Tie Is Yellow, Not Your Heart

by love_killed_the_superstar



Series: But Beautiful We Three Are [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Human, Gen, Hogwarts First Year, Young Love, but they always have been and always will be polypearls, pearlshipping bomb, polypearls, polypearls bomb, they're babies who don't really understand love yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-03
Updated: 2016-07-03
Packaged: 2018-07-19 18:33:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7372912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love_killed_the_superstar/pseuds/love_killed_the_superstar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>1. Pearl was disappointed to have been sorted into Hufflepuff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tie Is Yellow, Not Your Heart

**Author's Note:**

> AYYYYYYY polypearls bomb!!!!  
> this is my first time writing polypearls but i adore it. i'm hoping to explore a lot of different polypearls aus during this bomb that will hopefully help me to further understand how to write their dynamic. please bear with me if they feel out of character i'm still learning and also i wrote this with a headache so im tired

Pearl was disappointed to have been sorted into Hufflepuff.

Blue and Yellow (sure, those weren't their real names, but they were childhood names that had stuck, and it felt weird calling them Blair and Yelena just because they were at boarding school now) had both told her about the different houses at Hogwarts. They'd both gone ahead without her, due to the fact that she was recovering from a badly broken leg after a ballet accident that wouldn't be healed in time for the start of the new school year. They'd been hesitant at the prospect of not sharing dorms or classes with her, but Pearl had felt just from their detailed stories alone that she already knew all there was to know about the school.

Slytherin, Yellow's house, was ambitious, despite the tales of it being a home to the more villainous characters of Hogwarts. She described it as being a place of the witches and wizards with the most potential to succeed, with Blue ribbing that Ravenclaw, her respective house, was the most academically-minded, and held a higher rate of excelling at magic-related subjects, to which Yellow would argue back while Pearl sat there in an awkward silence.

But this year was different to last. They'd sent letter after letter of all the different facets of Hogwarts, and spent all summer preparing her for the upcoming year. Her mother was frankly amazed that they still had so much to talk about when she dropped them off at the station. Coming from a small wizarding village in the south of England, they'd heard a lot about Hogwarts over the years, but first person accounts from the two people closest to her in the world had excited her for the all-telling sorting ceremony that would take place later that night, in front of the whole school. Blue and Yellow had said their farewells, waving shyly at her before she and the other first years were ushered away onto the boats.

When the sorting hat had called out, “Hufflepuff!” she had found herself sorely disappointed by the entire thing. Because... Hufflepuff was the leftover house, right? She and Yellow were competitive enough that she could have ended up in Slytherin; yet she was studious and curious enough to join Blue in Ravenclaw, no problem. And, secretly, she had suspected her courage (she had always been the more stubborn and brave of the trio) would squeeze her into Gryffindor.

She couldn't even spot Yellow and Blue in the crowded hall. Maybe she wasn't looking hard enough because she was sulking, and because she was afraid to see their faces.

 

…

 

She hated the yellow. She was pale to begin with, with extremely fair skin and sun-lightened strawberry blonde hair (her mother said it was from her father's side; apparently he was Irish, but Pearl had never met the man for herself). The pale yellow tie only washed her out further, giving her the look of a late summer ghost.

It was surprisingly difficult to reach Yellow and Blue during the day; during meals they were sat at their respective house tables, and classes were off limits for obvious reasons. First years didn't get free periods since their timetables were crammed with introductory classes that were optional to other year groups, so Blue and Yellow got to see each other without interruption while she struggled in their midst, trying to call out to them in crowded corridors and attempting to sneak glances at them over dinners. They'd been able to sit out a few evenings by the lake, but Yellow and Blue had other friends, second years that stared at Pearl like her first year status denied her access to having second year friends. It was becoming torture, and Hogwarts wasn't nearly as fun as she was expecting it to be.

By the time October rolled around, she'd grown accustomed to spending time alone. It was difficult to make friends with the other girls since they were far more immature, and she'd never gotten along well with boys, so she'd read instead. She'd already read up on several goblin wars, memorising warrior names and so on.

It was one such evening, sitting by the lake beneath the shade of a towering oak, that a hand clapped her on the shoulder just as she had made herself comfortable and had found the right page to pick up from.

“Pearl!”

Pearl squeaked and her book slammed shut. Turning to look over her shoulder, she drank in the sight of Yellow and Blue, and at once felt uneasy.

“B-Blue. Yellow. Uh... I haven't seen you around much, lately...”

“You're right.” Yellow took a deep breath and sat down gracefully beside Pearl. Blue followed suit, effectively trapping her. “We've kind of been jerks to you, Pearl, we're sorry. Our friends don't really get that you're our friend too, and they can get pretty clingy, so...”

“But, it's no excuse. We're so sorry, we, we left you all alone and you had to figure everything out for yourself.” Blue chewed her lip and tugged on her too-long bangs, a telltale sign she had been agonising over this guilt for a while. “Can you forgive us?”

Pearl looked from Blue, anxious and brimming with apologies, to Yellow, equally as apologetic if not a little uncomfortable by the idea of being so upfront about being in the wrong to Pearl, one of the only people in the entire world as stubborn as her.

Oh, she loved her girls so much.

“I... sure.” Pearl dipped her head. “I can understand why you've been keeping your distance, though. Hufflepuffs are pretty annoying, huh.”

“What? Pearl, what are you talking about?” Yellow's hand touched her shoulder once again, and Pearl looked up sharply. Yellow's face had concern written all over it, and now she just felt silly for bringing it up. “Pearl, are you seriously hung up over being a Hufflepuff?”

“Shouldn't I be?” Pearl grumbled. “My best friends are a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw, and I'm just a bumbling Hufflepuff. I, I thought at least I'd be a Gryffindor, if not housing with one of you guys!”

“Pearl, are you serious right now?”

Yellow's reply, curt and unamused, stung a little. She stared down at her knees and sighed.

Blue spoke up hesitantly. “Pearl... Hufflepuffs really aren't the incompetent kids you're making them out to be, you know. Hufflepuff is about loyalty, dedication...”

“Hard work and integrity are your middle names,” Yellow said matter-of-factly. “Now Gryffindors, they just want to punch things and prove their worth with their brawn. Screw Gryffindors. Hufflepuffs work damn hard to succeed, and it takes a real nerd like you to pull it off. That tie, however gaudy, tells the people that matter just how much _you_ matter. So stop feeling sorry for yourself over something like that, okay?”

Pearl felt her cheeks heat up a little as she stared at Yellow, disbelieving. Yellow was in no means a horrible person, but she expressed her fondness for people through unconventional means, and simply sitting someone down and telling them they were special really wasn't her style, so it was surprising to say the least. Not to mention, pretty cute.

“I... okay. Uh, thank you,” she stammered, with a blush dusting her cheeks. Blue giggled at the sight, while Yellow shrugged and looked away with burning cheeks.

“Can we hug?” Blue asked, squeezing her hands together sheepishly. “I know we're not little kids anymore, but, hugging it out is how we've always dealt with stuff before, so...”

Pearl exchanged brief glances with Yellow, before turning to Blue and nodding, stretching out both arms to bring both of her friends into a hug. Something about it felt different, compared to before; there was a new, overwhelming giddiness present, and Pearl's heart was drumming against her chest, struggling to burst out. To think even simple things like hugs were changing here...

“I love you two,” Blue said with a shy smile, scooting over so she could reach Yellow too. “I know we've grown apart because of school, but... both of you are gonna come first from now on, okay?”

Yellow hummed and nodded, never one for sentimental speeches. Overcome with the blissful infatuation of youth, Pearl grinned and flopped back against the dry grass, pulling Blue and Yellow down with her despite their squeals and protests.

“You two are the best girls I could have, you know?”

 

**Author's Note:**

> also i know lately hp has been slimy af thanks to jkr but i still like ignoring her shitty input and writing about hogwarts in my own little bubble, so that's where my loyalties lie. fuck ilvermony honestly  
> anyway no guarantees i'll update every day this bomb but heres hoping!!!!


End file.
